Efficacy of Palmitoylethanolamide, Epilobium and Calendula suppositories for the treatment of patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome type III.

OBJECTIVE: The management of chronic prostatitis/ chronic pelvic pain syndrome type III (CP/CPPS) has been always considered complex due to several biopsychological factors underlying the disease. In this clinical study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment with Palmitoylethanolamide, Epilobium and Calendula extract in patients with CP/CPPS III. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From June 2023 to July 2023, we enrolled 45 consecutive patients affected by CP/CPPS type III in three different institution. We included patients aged between 18 and 75 years with symptoms of pelvic pain for 3 months or more before the study, a total National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) score ≥ 12 point and diagnosed with NIH category III, according to 4-glass test Meares-Stamey test. Patients were then allocated to receive rectal suppositories of PEA, Epilobium and Calendula, 1 suppository/ die for 1 month. All patients have been tested with standard urinalysis in order to assess urinary leukocytes (U-WBC). The primary endpoint of the study was the reduction of NIHCPSI. The secondary outcomes were the change of peak flow, post-void residual (PVR), IIEF-5, VAS score, PSA and decrease of U-WBC. RESULTS: A total of 45 patients concluded the study protocol. At baseline, the median age of all the patients included in the cohort was 49 years, the median PSA was 2.81 ng/ml, the median NIH-CPSI was 18.55, the median IIEF-5 was 18.27, the median U-WBC was 485.3/mmc, the median VAS score was 6.49, the median PVR was 26.5 ml and the median peak flow was 16.3 ml/s. After 1 month of therapy we observed a statistically significant improvement of NIH-CPSI, U-WBC, PSA, IIEF-5, peak flow, PVR and VAS. CONCLUSIONS: In this observational study, we showed the clinical efficacy of the treatment with PEA, Epilobium and Calendula, 1 suppository/die for 1 month, in patients with CP/CPPS III. The benefits of this treatment could be related to the reduction of inflammatory cells in the urine that could imply a reduction of inflammatory cytokines. These results should be confirmed in further studies with greater sample size.

Adherence to Healthy or Unhealthy Pro-Vegetarian Plant-Based Diets Have Different Impact on Prostate Cancer Severity: Preliminary Findings.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a prevalent malignancy affecting men worldwide, and plant-based diets have been widely advocated for their health benefits. The aim of this study was to test the association between general, healthy, and unhealthy pro-vegetarian plant-based diets and PCa severity on 118 consecutive patients undergoing prostatectomy in a university hospital in Italy. Food frequency questionnaires were used to calculate scores for dietary patterns. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to test the associations. A general plant-based diet was not associated with cancer severity, while patients reporting a higher adherence to a healthy plant-based diet were less likely to have a more severe PCa (for medium/high vs. low-risk PCa, OR = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.08, 0.88; for high vs. medium/low-risk PCa, OR = 0.09, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.39). Patients resulting in higher adherence to an unhealthy plant-based diet were more likely to be diagnosed with more severe PCa (OR = 6.15, 95% CI: 1.70, 22.24). In conclusion, plant-based dietary patterns may have a different impact on PCa severity depending on the quality of the foods included.

Prostate Cancer Severity in Relation to Level of Food Processing.

BACKGROUND: The level of food processing has gained interest as a potential determinant of human health. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the level of food processing and prostate cancer severity. METHODS: A sample of 120 consecutive patients were examined for the following: their dietary habits, assessed through validated food frequency questionnaires; their dietary intake of food groups, categorized according to the NOVA classification; and their severity of prostate cancer, categorized into risk groups according to European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines. Uni- and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to test the association between the variables of interest. RESULTS: Individuals reporting a higher consumption of unprocessed/minimally processed foods were less likely to have greater prostate cancer severity than those who consumed less of them in the energy-adjusted model (odds ratio (OR) = 0.38, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.17-0.84, p = 0.017 and OR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.12-0.91, p = 0.032 for medium/high vs. low grade and high vs. medium/low grade prostate cancers, respectively); however, after adjusting for potential confounding factors, the association was not significant anymore. A borderline association was also found between a higher consumption of ultra-processed foods and greater prostate cancer severity in the energy-adjusted model (OR = 2.11, 95% CI: 0.998-4.44; p = 0.051), but again the association was not significant anymore after adjusting for the other covariates. CONCLUSIONS: The level of food processing seems not to be independently associated with prostate cancer severity, while potentially related to other factors that need further investigation.

Is There a Role of Warburg Effect in Prostate Cancer Aggressiveness? Analysis of Expression of Enzymes of Lipidic Metabolism by Immunohistochemistry in Prostate Cancer Patients (DIAMOND Study).

Prostate Cancer (PCa) is still ranked as the first cancer in the male population and evidences have suggested an alteration of glycemic and lipidic metabolism that are related to its progression and prognosis. The aim of the study is to investigate associations between enzymes' expression, especially involved in the lipidic pathway, and PCa aggressiveness. We retrospectively analyzed data from 390 patients with PCa or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) at the Department of Urology, University of Catania. Immunohistochemical slides were evaluated for the expression of proteins related to glucose and lipidic metabolism. A total of 286 were affected by PCa while 104 by BPH. We demonstrated that ATP-lyase (odds ratio [OR]: 1.71; p < 0.01), fatty acid synthase (OR: 4.82; p < 0.01), carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1a (OR: 2.27; p < 0.05) were associated with androgen receptor (AR) expression. We found that steaoryl Co-A desaturase expression in PCa patients with total cholesterol ≥ 200 mg/dL was independently associated with ISUP ≥4 (OR: 4.22; p = 0.049). We found that CPT-1a+ was associated with biochemical recurrence (hazard ratio: 1.94; p = 0.03]). Our results support the evidence that the manipulation of lipidic metabolism could serve in the future to contrast PCa progression.

PD-1, PD-L1 and cAMP immunohistochemical expressions are associated with worse oncological outcome in patients with bladder cancer.

PURPOSE: In this study, we aimed to identify prognostic factors of cancer mortality in patients who received radical cystectomy and to identify genomic alterations in a sub-cohort of patients with locally advanced (pT3-4) and/or positive lymph nodes bladder cancer (BC). METHODS: We collected 101 BC samples from 2010 to 2018 who previously received radical cystectomy. Immunohistochemical slides were evaluated for PPAR, cAMP, IMP3, Ki67, CDK4, POU5F1, Cyclin E and MDM2, p65, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20, CD68, CD163, FOXP3, PD-1 and PD-L1 expression. We calculated a prognostic score (PS) based on the positivity to PD-1, PD-L1 and of cAMP (final score ranging from 0 to 3). DNA of each sample have been used for sequencing by NGS in a sub-cohort of 6 patients with locally advanced (pT3-4) and/or positive lymph nodes BC. RESULTS: PD-1 + (HR [hazard ratio] 2.59; p = 0.04), PD-L1+ (HR = 6.46; p < 0.01) and cAMP+ (HR 3.04; p = 0.02) were independent predictors of cancer-specific mortality (CSM). Increase of PS (score = 0 as reference) was associated with CSM, 0.81 (p = 0.80), 4.72 (p = 0.01) and 10.51 (p < 0.0) for PS 1, 2 and 3, respectively. ERBB2 was the gene most frequently mutated. CONCLUSION: BC exhibited heterogenous protein expression and variable genomic features. Identification of expression of PD-1, PD-L1 and cAMP could help in predicting oncological outcomes.

Genomic Landscape Alterations in Primary Tumor and Matched Lymph Node Metastasis in Hormone-Naïve Prostate Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer (PCa) is a disease with a wide range of clinical manifestations. Up to the present date, the genetic understanding of patients with favorable or unfavorable prognosis is gaining interest for giving the appropriate tailored treatment. We aimed to investigate genetic changes associated with lymph node metastasis in a cohort of hormone-naïve Pca patients. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data from 470 patients who underwent surgery for PCa between 2010 and 2020 at the Department of Urology, University of Catania. Inclusion criteria were patients with lymph node metastasis and patients with PCa with extra capsular extension (pT3) and negative lymph node metastasis. The final cohort consisted of 17 different patients (11 PCa with lymph node metastasis and 6 PCa without lymph node metastasis). Through the cBioPortal online tool, we analyzed gene alterations and their correlations with clinical factors. RESULTS: A total of 688 intronic, synonym and nonsynonym mutations were sequenced. The gene with the most sequenced mutations was ERBB4 (83 mutations, 12% of 688 total), while the ones with the lower percentage of mutations were AKT1, FGFR2 and MLH1 (1 mutation alone, 0.14%). CONCLUSION: In the present study we found mostly concordance concerning the ERBB4 mutation between both primary PCa samples and matched lymph node metastasis, underlining that the identification of alterations in the primary tumor is extremely important for cancer prognosis prediction.

Performance of Narrow Band Imaging (NBI) and Photodynamic Diagnosis (PDD) Fluorescence Imaging Compared to White Light Cystoscopy (WLC) in Detecting Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer: A Systematic Review and Lesion-Level Diagnostic Meta-Analysis.

Despite early detection and regular surveillance of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), recurrence and progression rates remain exceedingly high for this highly prevalent malignancy. Limited visualization of malignant lesions with standard cystoscopy and associated false-negative biopsy rates have been the driving force for investigating alternative and adjunctive technologies for improved cystoscopy. The aim of our systematic review and meta-analysis was to compare the sensitivity, specificity, and oncologic outcomes of photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) fluorescence, narrow band imaging (NBI), and conventional white light cystoscopy (WLC) in detecting NMIBC. Out of 1,087 studies reviewed, 17 prospective non-randomized and randomized controlled trials met inclusion criteria for the study. We demonstrated that tumor resection with either PDD and NBI exhibited lower recurrence rates and greater diagnostic sensitivity compared to WLC alone. NBI demonstrated superior disease sensitivity and specificity as compared to WLC and an overall greater hierarchical summary receiver operative characteristic. Our findings are consistent with emerging guidelines and underscore the value of integrating these enhanced technologies as a part of the standard care for patients with suspected or confirmed NMIBC.

SRSF-1 and microvessel density immunohistochemical analysis by semi-automated tissue microarray in prostate cancer patients with diabetes (DIAMOND study).

OBJECTIVE: To study the association between insulin receptors (isoforms α and ß), insulin growth factor-1 (IGF1) and serine/arginine splicing factor 1 (SRSF-1) in patients with prostate cancer (PC) and diabetes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data from 368 patients who underwent surgery for PC or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) between 2010 and 2020 at the Department of Urology, University of Catania. Tissue microarray slides were constructed and they were stained for androgen receptor (AR), insulin receptor-α and -ß, IGF1 (IGF1-R), Ki-67, and prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expression using validated score. RESULTS: The final cohort was represented by 100 patients with BPH and 268 with PC, with a median age of 68 years. We found that SRSF-1 expression was associated with AR (odds ratio [OR]: 1.66), PSMA (OR: 2.13), Ki-67 (OR: 5.99), insulin receptor (IR)-α (OR: 2.38), IR-ß (OR: 3.48), IGF1-R (OR: 1.53), and microvascular density (MVD) was associated with PSMA (OR: 3.44), Ki-67 (OR: 2.23), IR-α (OR: 2.91), IR-ß (OR: 3.02), IGF1-R (OR: 2.95), and SRSF-1 (OR: 2.21). In the sub cohort of PC patients, we found that SRSF-1 expression was associated with AR (OR: 2.34), Ki-67 (OR: 6.77), IR-α (OR: 2.7), and MVD (OR: 1.98). At the Kaplan-Meier analysis, SRSF-1+ patients had worse 5- and 9-year biochemical recurrence (36% and 6%) respect to SRSF-1- (67% and 7%; p < .01) and similarly MVD+ patients (44% and 7%) respect to MVD- (64% and 8%; p < .01). Restricting the analysis only in patients with PC and diabetes, we found that SRSF-1+ was associated with Ki-67+ (OR: 8.75; p < .05) and MVD+ (OR: 7.5; p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: PC exhibits widespread heterogeneity in protein expression. In particular, the expressions of the SRSF-1 protein and of the MVD are associated with a worse prognosis and in particular with a greater cell proliferation. These results, although preliminary, may offer new future scientific insights with the aim of highlighting possible genetic alterations linked to a greater expression of SRSF-1 and associated with a worse prognosis.

Insulin signaling, androgen receptor and PSMA immunohistochemical analysis by semi-automated tissue microarray in prostate cancer with diabetes (DIAMOND study).

In the last years, many studies have highlighted the hypothesis that diabetes and hyperglycemia could be relevant for prostate cancer (PC) development and progression. We aimed to identify the prognostic value of tissue expression of androgen receptor (AR), Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA), Ki-67, insulin receptors (IR)  α and ß, insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) receptor, in patients with PC and to evaluate their association with diabetes. We retrospectively collected data from 360 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy for PC or surgery for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), between 2010 and 2020. We constructed tissue microarray for immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis. In the final cohort (76 BPH and 284 PC), 57 (15.8%) patients had diabetes, 17 (22.37%) in BPH and 40 (14.08%) in PC (P = 0.08). IR-α was more expressed in patients with PC compared to the BPH Group (95.96% vs 4.04%; P <0.01). We found that AR was associated with increased risk of International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) score ≥4 (OR: 2.2; P <0.05), higher association with Ki-67 (OR: 2.2; P <0.05) and IR-α (OR: 5.7; P <0.05); IGF-1 receptor was associated with PSMA (OR: 2.8; P <0.05), Ki-67 (OR: 3.5; P <0.05) and IR-ß (OR: 5.1; P <0.05). Finally, IGF-1 receptor was predictive of ISUP ≥ 4 (OR: 16.5; P =0.017) in patients with PC and diabetes. In the present study we highlighted how prostate cancer patients have a different protein expression in the tissue. This expression, and in particular that relating to IGF-1R, is associated with greater tumor aggressiveness in those patients with diabetes. We suppose that these results are attributable to an alteration of the insulin signal which therefore determines a greater mitogenic activity that can influence tumor progression.

Mechanical and Ablative Minimally Invasive Techniques for Male LUTS due to Benign Prostatic Obstruction: A Systematic Review according to BPH-6 Evaluation.

The treatment of male lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to benign prostatic obstruction represents one of the major interesting aspects in urological clinical practice. Although transurethral resection of the prostate is still considered the surgical gold standard for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia with prostate volume <80 mL, various minimally invasive surgical treatments (MITs) have been developed to overcome the limitations of the "conventional" surgery. To date, there are no validated tools to evaluate the surgical outcomes of MITs; however, in the past, BPH-6 has been used for this purpose. In this systematic review, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of MITs according to BPH-6 score system. We focused our attention on MITs based on mechanical devices (prostatic urethral lift and the temporary implantable nitinol device) and techniques for prostate ablation (image guided robotic waterjet ablation and convective water vapor energy ablation). Evidence shows that MITs are capable of leading to an improvement in LUTS without having an overwhelming impact on complications and are a valid alternative to other treatments in patients who wish to preserve their sexual function or in case of inapplicability of conventional surgery. However, comparative studies between these techniques are still missing.

Systemic combining inflammatory score (SCIS): a new score for prediction of oncologic outcomes in patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive urothelial bladder cancer.

BACKGROUND: An accurate and early diagnosis of bladder cancer (BC) is essential to offer patients the most appropriate treatment and the highest cure rate. For this reason, patients need to be best stratified by class and risk factors. We aimed to develop a score able to better predict cancer outcomes, using serum variables of inflammation. METHODS: A total of 1,510 high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients were included in this retrospective observational study. Patients with pathologically proven T1 HG/G3 at first TURBT were included. Systemic combined inflammatory score (SCIS) was calculated according to systemic inflammatory markers (SIM), modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS), and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) dichotomized (final score from 0 to 3). RESULTS: After 48 months of follow-up (IQR 40.0-73.0), 727 patients recurred (48.1%), 485 progressed (32.1%), 81 died for cancer (7.0%), and 163 died for overall causes (10.8%). Overall, 231 (15.3%) patients had concomitant Cis, 669 (44.3%) patients had multifocal pathology, 967 (64.1%) patients had tumor size >3 cm. Overall, 357 (23.6%) patients received immediate-intravesical therapy, 1,356 (89.8%) received adjuvant intravesical therapy, of which 1,382 (91.5%) received BCG, 266 (17.6%) patients received mitomycin C, 4 (0.5%) patients received others intravesical therapy. Higher SCIS was independently predictive of recurrence (hazard ratio HR 1.5, 1.3 and 2.2) and cancer specific mortality for SCIS 0 and 3 (HR: 1.61 and 2.3), and overall mortality for SCIS 0 and 3 (HR: 2.4 and 3.2). Conversely, SCIS was not associated with a higher probability of progression. CONCLUSIONS: The inclusion of the SCIS in clinical practice is simple to apply and can help improve the prediction of cancer outcomes. It can identify patients with high-grade BC who are more likely to experience disease mortality.

Evaluation of the "Teaching Guide for Basic Laparoscopic Skills" as a stand-alone educational tool for hands-on training sessions: a pilot study.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Standardization of hands-on training (HoT) has profoundly impacted the educational field in the last decade. To provide quality training sessions on a global scale, the European School of Urology Training group developed a teaching guide for tutors in 2015. Our study aims to understand whether this guide alone can provide information enough to match the performance improvement guaranteed by an expert tutor. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 4 randomized groups of participants underwent HoT sessions with different teaching modalities: an expert surgeon (group 1), an expert E-BLUS tutor (group 2), E-BLUS guide alone (group 3), no tutor (group 4). Groups 1 and 2 were respectively provided with two different tutors to avoid biases related to personal tutor ability. Along the training session, each participant could perform five trials on two E-BLUS tasks: Peg transfer and Knot tying. During trials 1 and 5, completion time and number of errors were recorded for analysis with Pi-score algorithm. The average per-group Pi-scores were then compared to measure different performance improvement results. RESULTS: 60 participants from Italy were enrolled and randomized into four groups of 15. Pi-scores recorded on Peg transfer task were 24,6 (group 1), 26,4 (group 2), 42,2 (group 3), 11,7 (group 4). Pi-scores recorded on Knot tying task were 33,2 (group 1), 31,3 (group 2), 37,5 (group 3), 18,6 (group 4). CONCLUSION: Compared to a human tutor, standardized teaching with the EBLUS guide may produce similar performance improvement. This evidence opens doors to automated teaching and to several novelties in hands-on training.

How radical prostatectomy procedures have changed over the last 10 years in Italy: a comparative analysis based on more than 1500 patients participating in the MIRROR-SIU/LUNA and the Pros-IT CNR study.

PURPOSE: Therapeutic strategies for prostate cancer (PCa) have been evolving dramatically worldwide. The current article reports on the evolution of surgical management strategies for PCa in Italy. METHODS: The data from two independent Italian multicenter projects, the MIRROR-SIU/LUNA (started in 2007, holding data of 890 patients) and the Pros-IT-CNR project (started in 2014, with data of 692 patients), were compared. Differences in patients' characteristics were evaluated. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify characteristics associated with robot-assisted (RA) procedure, nerve sparing (NS) approach, and lymph node dissection (LND). RESULTS: The two cohorts did not differ in terms of age and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels at biopsy. Patients enrolled in the Pros-IT-CNR project more frequently were submitted to RA (58.8% vs 27.6%, p < 0.001) and NS prostatectomy (58.4% vs. 52.9%, p = 0.04), but received LND less frequently (47.7% vs. 76.7%, p < 0.001), as compared to the MIRROR-SIU/LUNA patients. At multivariate logistic models, Lower Gleason Scores (GS) and PSA levels were significantly associated with RA prostatectomy in both cohorts. As for the MIRROR-SIU/LUNA data, clinical T-stage was a predictor for NS (OR = 0.07 for T3, T4) and LND (OR = 2.41 for T2) procedures. As for Pros-IT CNR data, GS ≥ (4 + 3) and positive cancer cores ≥ 50% were decisive factors both for NS (OR 0.29 and 0.30) and LND (OR 7.53 and 2.31) strategies. CONCLUSIONS: PCa management has changed over the last decade in Italian centers: RA and NS procedures without LND have become the methods of choice to treat newly medium-high risk diagnosed PCa.

Human papillomavirus and risk of prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: There is growing evidence showing a putative association between high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection and an increased risk of PCa.Objective: The aim of the current meta-analysis was to evaluate the association between HPV infection and PCa risk.Methods: This analysis was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis guidelines. We included all studies on HPV DNA or antibodies detected in biopsy tissues or sera. Available data were extracted from the article, including means and standard deviations in all case-control groups.Results: Thirty studies that investigated the link between HPV-16 and -18 were identified as eligible for this systematic review and meta-analysis, including a total of 6321 participants. The pooled OR showed increased risk of PCa (OR =1.37; p < .01) in men positive for HPV-16. There were seven studies with 2391 PCa cases and 4059 controls investigating the association between HPV-18 infection and PCa risk. Significant heterogeneity between study was found in the pooled analyzes. The pooled OR did not show increased risk of PCa (OR =0.80; p = .49) in men positive for HPV-18.Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that HPV-16 infection could represent a risk factor for PCa, whereas we found no such association for HPV-18. Further well-conducted studies could be useful to confirm this conclusion.

Complication Rate After Antibiotic Prophylaxis with Fosfomycin Versus Fluorochinolones or ß-lactam Antibiotics in Patients Undergoing Prostate Biopsy: A Propensity Score-adjusted Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy (TRBx) or transperineal Bx (TPBx) are considered alternative approaches for the diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa). However, urinary tract infection (UTI) or other complications could be more frequent in the TRBx approach. OBJECTIVE: To determine the complication rate following different antimicrobial prophylaxis (AMP; fosfomycin trometamol [FT] vs ß-lactame or fluorochinolones [FQ]) in patients undergoing TRBx or TPBx. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: The analyses were based on prospectively collected data of a cohort of patients who underwent TRBx or TPBx for elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA; ≥4ng/ml) or clinical suspicion of PCa, between September 2016 and March 2017. Patients received a single dose of 3g oral FT (group A) or, alternatively, FQ or ß-lactame (group B). INTERVENTION: TRBx versus TPBx. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Adjustment variables consisted of age, PSA, biopsy technique (TPBx vs TRBx), and antibiotic prophylaxis (FT vs ß-lactame or FQ) using 1:1 propensity-score matching. Overall, 526 patients were considered, of whom 258 received FT (group A) and the other 258 received ß-lactame or FQ (group B). RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Overall complications occurred in 390 (75.58%) and major complications in 67/516 (12.98%). Lower prevalence of UTIs was detected in group A (34.1%) compared with that in group B (43.4%; p=0.03), while similar rates of haematuria (54.7% vs 55.4%), haemospermia (39.5% vs 33.0%), and acute urinary retention (11.6% vs 9.3%) were detected in groups A and B. We found that group B (odds ratio [OR]: 1.54; p=0.03), I grade haematuria (OR: 6.17; p<0.01), and II grade haematuria (OR: 5.13; p<0.01) were significantly associated with increased risk of UTIs. CONCLUSIONS: AMP with fluoroquinoles or ß-lactam antibiotics increased the rate of UTIs, when compared with FT, in patients undergoing TRBx or TPBx. The appearance of haematuria or haemospermia is associated with UTIs, suggesting the possibility of tailoring the strategy for prophylaxis in this category of patients. PATIENT SUMMARY: In this study, comparing complications after transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy versus transperineal biopsy, prophylaxis with fluoroquinoles or ß-lactam antibiotics increased the rate of urinary tract infections when compared with fosfomycin trometamol, regardless of the type of biopsy approach.

Implant of ATOMS® system for the treatment of postoperative male stress urinary incontinence: an Italian multicentric study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate efficacy and safety of the ATOMS system for the treatment of postoperative stress urinary incontinence (SUI). METHODS: We included all consecutive male patients referring for postoperative SUI and treated with ATOMS system from June 2013 to July 2017. Patients received anamnesis, 24 h Pad Test, Pad count, physical examination, urodynamic evaluation, ICIQ-UI SF questionnaire. We excluded patients with low bladder capacity and compliance, uncontrolled detrusor overactivity. RESULTS: We treated 98 patients with median age of 70.21±10.02 years. The most common cause of SUI was open radical prostatectomy in 79 patients. Ten patients had undergone urethrotomy, 7 bladder neck incision, 14 adjuvant radiotherapy. Thirty-nine patients suffered of mild incontinence (24 h Pad Test <200 g), 49 moderate incontinence (200-400 g), 10 severe incontinence (≥400 g). Thirty-one patients underwent previous incontinence surgery: 29 ProACT, 3 artificial urinary sphincters (in 2 cases both devices), 1 bulking agents and subsequent male sling. Median follow-up was 21.5 months. We had a significant reduction of mean 24 h Pads Test, pad count and ICIQ-UI SF questionnaire (P<0.01). At last follow-up 47.96% of patients were dry and 79.59% reached social continence. A high incontinence grade, adjuvant radiotherapy, previous urethral surgery and incontinence surgery have been associated with lower continence results. We had complications in 33 patients (33.7%). The device was removed in 4 cases due to scrotal port erosion and in one case due to persistent pain. CONCLUSIONS: The ATOMS system seems to be an effective and safe surgical treatment for postoperative male SUI.

"Aquabeam® System" for benign prostatic hyperplasia and LUTS: birth of a new era. A systematic review of functional and sexual outcome and adverse events of the technique.

PURPOSE: Aim of this systematic review is to evaluate functional outcomes (Qmax, QoL, IPSS, PVR), sexual outcome (erectile dysfunction and anejaculation rate), and adverse events evaluated according to the Clavien-Dindo classification. METHODS: The bibliographic search with the included terms (prostate, benign prostatic hyperplasia, benign prostatic enlargement, lower urinary tract symptoms, water jet dissection, aquablation, Aquabeam®) produced a literature of 32 articles altogether. After removing papers of not interest or articles which the outcomes could not be deduced, nine studies were examined for a total of 664 patients screened. RESULTS: The functional outcomes, evaluated after water jet dissection, have shown improvement with respect to the baseline in all the selected articles. In the comparison papers with the TURP, the Aquablation has been statistically not inferior regarding functional outcomes. The sexual outcomes have highlighted a better ejaculation rate for water jet dissection than TURP. Regarding the adverse events, water jet dissection documented low rates of adverse events and, in comparison studies, were not statistically superior than TURP. CONCLUSIONS: In our systematic review, the Aquabeam® System for the treatment of LUTS/BPH has proven to be a safe technique that provides functional outcomes comparable to TURP. About sexual outcomes, the most important data is certainly the low rate of retrograde ejaculation. However, other multicenter randomized trials with larger cohorts and longer follow-up are still needed.

The use of laser as a therapeutic modality as compared to TURP for the small prostate ≤40 mL: a collaborative review.

INTRODUCTION: In the last decade therapeutic options for patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) secondary to benign prostatic enlargement (BPE) have constantly increased. Although transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) is still considered the surgical gold standard, different lasers and advanced techniques have been introduced as alternatives to TURP. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A non-systematic Medline/Pubmed literature search was performed with different combination of terms including: "BPH," "M-TURP," "B-TURP" "bladder outlet obstruction," "YAG laser," "Diode laser," "Potassium titanyl phosphate," "KTP," "bladder outlet obstruction" (BOO), "BOO in small prostate". Only studies reporting prostate volume ≤40 cc were considered for this review. EVIDENCE SYNTESIS: Current evidence on the use of laser as a therapeutic modality as compared to TURP reported similar functional results of bipolar-TURP, Thulium laser and Greenlight. For prostate gland ≤40 cc, HoLEP can be technically more difficult while Holmium-TUIP seems to be a valid option but with a higher rate of retrograde ejaculation which is considerably higher than the rate in electrocautery series. The diode laser showed excellent intra-operatively haemostasis with clear endoscopic vision and durable improvements in functional results, but may produce greater passive thermal energy conduction that can cause scrotal edema and anal pain. However, conclusions need to be drawn after median to long term evaluation of patients and consideration of the economic implications, coupled with the potential for reducing morbidity. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence acquisition from the literature showed that mini-invasive surgeries, including Greenlight laser and Holmium laser incision represent valid alternatives to TURP in prostate ≤40 g. We reported effective results of laser therapy as therapeutic modalities as compared to TURP for the small prostate ≤40 mL, both for enucleation and excision or cauterization, however cost effective of laser in the current literature are still scarce and it should be implemented.

Comparative Effectiveness of Intralesional Therapy for Peyronie's Disease in Controlled Clinical Studies: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Medical treatment of Peyronie's disease (PD) in terms of intralesional therapy is still a matter of debate. AIM: To compare the efficacy of different classes of intralesional therapy with a network meta-analysis (NMA) method. METHODS: The search was conducted using documents published in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases until September 30, 2017. We included randomized controlled trials comparing at least 1 intralesional therapy with a placebo therapy or with another drug for the treatment of PD. All intralesional therapies have been considered: collagenase Clostridium histolyticum (CCH), hyaluronic acid, verapamil, and interferon α-2b. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Outcomes of the study are the mean change in penile curvature (PC) and in erectile function (EF) assessed with the International Index of Erectile Function questionnaire. RESULTS: In total, 8 comparisons matched with the inclusion criteria, which includes 1,050 patients. With regard to PC (degree) improvement, hyaluronic acid and verapamil showed worse outcomes when compared with CCH (-6.66 and -2.30) and interferon α-2b (-6.75 and -2.38). When considering improvement in EF, hyaluronic acid, verapamil and interferon α-2b showed a slight increase in mean change when compared with CCH (+2.39, +1.77, and +0.65). Moreover, verapamil and interferon α-2b showed slightly worse mean change in comparison to hyaluronic acid (+0.62 and +1.74), whereas interferon α-2b was worse than verapamil (-1.12). CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Based on this NMA, empirical therapy for PD should be avoided to offer the patients the best treatment in terms of level of evidence. STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS: In this NMA, we have provided, for the first time, evidence of the efficacy between different intralesional therapies for the treatment of PD. We were not able to compare all specific outcomes (ie, pain, plaque size, patient satisfaction) of PD, because of the lack of homogeneity across relevant studies. Moreover, because of the few included studies, a meta-regression analysis of predictive factors of treatment response was not calculated. CONCLUSION: This is the first meta-analysis comparing all available intralesional treatments for PD. CCH and interferon α-2b showed the best outcome in terms of PC, whereas hyaluronic acid was most efficient in relation to EF. Russo GI, Cacciamani G, Cocci A, et al. Comparative Effectiveness of Intralesional Therapy for Peyronie's Disease in Controlled Clinical Studies: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis. J Sex Med 2019;16:289-299.